Operation: The Golden Rule of Love Rewritten
by Yugismpuzzle
Summary: One Shot. I have re-written this episode so everything has changed. What happens when Hitomi DOESN'T kiss Allen? What happens when Van decides to go after Hitomi and set things right? Read and Find out!!!


**AN: Hi, I'm back with another fan fic idea. I apologize to all of you who are complaining about the lack of updates on "The Second Atlantis Machine." I kind of left you had a cliff hanger didn't I? Heh heh… don't worry, I do plan on finishing it, I just had this wonderful idea of a fic and I had to get it done. And then of course, I'm halfway finished with writing another chapter for "Flying High", but hopefully, after I post that one, I'll start writing the next chapter for Atlantis Machine, so relax. I've got everything under control. Any who, this fic is an idea that I've had in my head for a very long time. You all remember the episode "Operation: The Golden Rule of Love" right? Who couldn't remember that episode? Well, I've decided to re-write this episode according to how I want it to happen. Muahahahahaha……I AM THE EVIL GENEOUS!!! Well, enough blabbing and lets get on with the fic!!!**

**Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Escaflowne. If I did, there would be no reason to do a re-write. Hahahaha……HA!**

**Operation: The Golden Rule of Love- Re written**

It was raining. Hundreds of water drops could be heard drumming on the roof of the Guymelef hanger. Birds cooed to themselves, content at finding a suitable shelter. Underneath them, Van and Merle stood protected by the roof, staring at the dark storm above them.

"Wow, this storm sure came in fast, didn't it?" Merle said in her usual cheerful tone.

"Yeah, it did." Van replied half-heartedly. He didn't really hear what she had said. His mind was elsewhere at the moment.

Over and over again, he replayed the events that had just happened, not even a half hour ago.

_*Flashback*_

_"Hitomi?"_

_"Yes Van?"_

_"I want you to stay with me, stay with me from now on, that is…"_

_"Wha…what are you saying?"_

_"I want you…I want…you…your power!"_

_*End Flashback* _

Van wished that he could kick himself for that slip up.

_'Van you are such and idiot. You finally get the nerve to tell Hitomi what you want, and you slip up your words and say the worst thing possible to her.' _

Van reached up and touched his check. It was still stinging and slightly red from when Hitomi had slapped him before running off into the storm. 

_'Cant say I didn't deserve it.'_

The slap itself hurt him more emotionally than it did physically. It hurt so much because after all this time, he finally decided to open up a bit on the inside, but that just made the rejection that much worse. He could see clearly in his mind's eye the look in Hitomi's eyes before she ran away, anger with a hint of betrayal. 

He felt guilty. He had grown so used to the cheerful Hitomi that when he had seen the new angry one, it startled him. It was _his fault that she had changed so dramatically.  _

Van took one last glance at the sky above and turned back towards Escaflowne. For a moment, he thought if he busied himself with repairing his Guymelef, he wouldn't feel as bad. But he soon realized it was futile. He couldn't get Hitomi out of his head. Her eyes again flashed in his memory along with the sounds of her fleeing foot steps. 

_'You should go after her'_

_'It's too late, just let it go.'_ Van argued to himself as he took another step towards his Guymelef.__

_'You can't give up now! Not when you're so close to telling her the truth.'_ He stepped away and moved closer to the rain.

_'It doesn't matter.'_ Van completely turned his back to the rain, trying to block out the sounds of the water drops outside. Meanwhile, Merle watched confused, as Van had his internal debate. 

_'This is your last chance! Go now, before it's too late!'_

With a small mental cry, Van dashed into the pouring rain.

 "Where are you going?" Merle yelled in surprise.

"I have to find Hitomi." Van called back.

"You'll catch a cold!" Merle whined. 

For some odd reason, Van couldn't explain, his last words echoed in his head, over and over again.

_'I have to find Hitomi…before it's too late.' _He added.

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Out in the rain somewhere was Hitomi Kanzaki. Once the rain had started, she sought shelter under the tree she was standing at, but no such luck. The rain managed to pelt their way in between the leaves and branches and now Hitomi was soaked to the bone. Several drops splattered her face as she looked up at the stormy sky.

"I should head back." She said to herself, but her own thoughts gave her a counter argument.

_'Back to where? Back to whom? Do I really have somewhere to go back to?'_

She thought vaguely of just leaving and finding a shelter from the rain, but dismissed the thought immediately. Sure, she knew if she stayed in the rain too long she would get sick, but it didn't matter to her at the moment, nothing did. The whole world could explode in that instant and it wouldn't matter. She didn't care. She felt so confused and lost and tired, like a bird that's been flying too long and didn't have a place to land. Yes, she felt like that bird, flying around aimlessly, nowhere to go. Just waiting for something to happen.

Without even realizing it, Hitomi started walking in no particular direction. Just walking, but still thinking about that bird.

It used to be when she felt like this, she had a friend to turn to who made her feel better. On Earth, it was Yukari. On Gaea, it was Van. But now, she didn't have either of them, not even Van. 

When he had said…_that_…she thought that Van actually…but it doesn't matter anymore. He was gone. It was just Hitomi left. Just Hitomi. Just…

Hitomi stopped walking and took a look at her surroundings. She had walked right into the village and was now standing on a bridge over the water. Hitomi grabbed a hold of the railing and peeked over the bridge. Less than an hour ago, there was just a small amount of water beneath her, but now, it was like a fast moving river. Hitomi noticed a leaf float away underneath her. She watched as it drifted away in the current. Once the leaf was out of view, Hitomi turned her head and saw someone come onto the bridge.

"Allen!"

The blonde knight looked at Hitomi straight in the eye, a small smile on his lips.

_'There's my chance.'_ He thought.

Allen stepped forward and pulled Hitomi close to him.

"Why is my heart at peace when I'm with you?"

Hitomi's legs nearly collapsed underneath her weight. Once Allen had pulled her into his embrace, she actually realized how cold she really felt. 

_'He's warm. He smells like Amano.'_

Amano, her first crush on the Mystic Moon. Maybe that's why she was so attracted to Allen. He reminded her of Amano.

_'But Allen _isn't_ Amano!' Hitomi thought. __'And besides, Millerna is the one who loves Allen.' _

An image of the beautiful princess flashed in her mind, along with the memory when the knight and princess had kissed on the roof top. 

"No!" Hitomi pushed herself away from Allen's warmth. "I can't!"

Allen scowled slightly. "Why not?"

"Because I know how Millerna fells about you!"

Allen's eyes narrowed slightly. _'Not her again…'_

"All I see is you Hitomi." Allen said in the most soothing voice he could muster.

_'What is he saying? Allen loves Millerna! It's obvious, but why did he say?...Maybe his feelings have changed. But…have my feelings changed as well?' _

Hitomi looked up at the knight as he put his hands on her shoulders and leaned in closer to her.

_'Oh god, he's going to kiss me! But do I want to kiss him too?...He's not Amano!' _

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It seemed like he had been searching for hours. Van was soaked through and through, but he had seen no sign of Hitomi. The first place he checked was the palace, but she wasn't there, so the only place she could be was in the village. 

There was hardly anyone outside, except the couple that Van spotted making out outside of a tavern. Most people had taken refuge indoors so they were protected from the rain. Still, he continued to search. At first he ran, but soon the cold air caught in his lungs, and he had to slow down. Now, he resorted to walking.

Van had searched the entire first half of the village, and now he was on his way to search the second half. The entire village was split in half by a man-made river that way everyone had easy access to a water source. 

At this point, Van was on his way to the nearest bridge that connected the two halves.

Van turned a corner and walked under an archway and froze. He had found the bridge, but what he also found was Allen and Hitomi. Allen had his hands on her shoulders and was pulling her in for a kiss.

_'It's too late.' _Van thought sorrowfully. 

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"No!" Hitomi said suddenly, catching Van's attention, although she didn't know he was watching. 

"No?" Allen repeated.

"I won't do this. It's not right." Again, Hitomi pushed herself away from Allen. "I can't do this, I won't."

Allen frowned. "Why not? I love you and you love me, so why can't we take the next step?"

"Because I _don't_ love you." Hitomi said quietly so only Allen heard her.

"What are you talking about? Of course you love me." Allen said as if he were speaking the obvious.

"No, Allen, I don't love you. I love…someone else." _'I can't believe it's taken me this long to realize…' "I'm sorry. I should go." Hitomi turned to leave but she was stopped when Allen grabbed her wrist._

"No Hitomi, I'm not letting you get away." Hitomi looked up at Allen, and for the first time, there was a hint of fear in her eyes.

Van was also looking at the knight with a confused expression. He couldn't hear what the two of them were saying, but he didn't like what he was seeing. 

_'What does Allen think he's doing?'_

Hitomi looked into Allen's eyes which seemed to hold a mad glint in them. "Listen to me, Hitomi. We _belong_ together. Don't you see? With my swordsmanship and your power…"

"My power?" Hitomi said in disbelief.

"Yes, together, we'll make a force that no one will be able to defeat. We're good together. Please Hitomi." 

_'I can't believe I'm hearing this again!'_

"Absolutely not!" Hitomi yelled.

Allen blanched. This was not the answer he expected. Van, who had heard Hitomi's outburst, was just as confused because he had no idea what the two of them were talking about.

"What is the matter with you? Don't you understand? I hate it when you're all fighting. It makes me sick. All you do is hurt people. I'm not about to help you destroy more lives. Goodbye Allen." 

Hitomi made to leave but Allen didn't let go of her wrist. Hitomi looked up at Allen and gave him a reproachful look.

"Allen, let go of me."

"No, not until you understand."

"I already understand Allen. You think I'm a _thing. Something you can control, but I'm not a thing Allen. I'm a person, and I'll have no part in your ridiculous plan. Now let me go." Hitomi gave a fruitless tug against Allen's iron grip, but to no avail._

"No!" Allen, again, pulled Hitomi closer to him.

Van had half a mind to kill Allen, but something in the back of his head told him to wait, so he waited.

Hitomi, full of rage, used all her strength to push herself away from Allen. It worked, but he still had a grasp on her wrist. Hitomi quickly forced her hand to move in a counterclockwise motion, forcing Allen to let go, but not before stinging and pulling at her skin as he fought to hold on. As soon as she was free, she wasted no time. She ran.

"Hitomi, come back here!" Allen yelled, but she paid him no heed. He cried out in angry frustration before turning his heal and leaving. As soon as Allen disappeared, Van dashed out of his hiding spot and chased after Hitomi. 

_'What just happened here? For a moment I thought that Allen was going to…but then he…'_

His old friend was acting very weird indeed. He still thought vaguely about killing Allen for scaring Hitomi, but at this point, he was more concerned for Hitomi's well being. 

Van ran across the bridge and down an ally before he found Hitomi, who was still running away. 

Van called out her name, but that only caused Hitomi to run even faster. Van fought to close the gap in-between them, but it was no use. She was too fast.

In fact, she was going _too_ fast. If she didn't slow down, she was going to…

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_'Why is it that every time something goes wrong, I end up running? I ran away from Millerna when she asked for a reading. I ran away from Van. Now I'm running away from Allen.'_

"Hitomi!" A distant voice called.

_'Why must I always run?'_

"Hitomi, wait!"

Again, she ignored her pursuer. She just kept running, faster and faster, squinting at the raindrops that stung at her face. She ran as if her life depended on it. She ran, hoping against hope that she could escape from all her problems.

_'Please, I just want it to end. Make everything stop.'_

In that exact moment, Hitomi looked down and saw that the pendent hanging around her neck was glowing. Her heart filled with false hope when she thought the pendent would take her back to earth. Hitomi's feet lifted up from under her, and she thought for a moment that she was on her way back home. But then she realized something was wrong.

_'Where's the light?'_

As soon as she finished that thought, everything came crashing down. Her feet found the ground again but she slipped in the rain. She fell to her knees and eventually onto her stomach. But because of her momentum, she continued to go forward. She flew, bounced, and gradually skidded to a stop.

"Hitomi!" The voice called again.

Hitomi lay on the cold pavement, bruised and scratched, in the middle of the pouring rain. She almost laughed at the irony. She had asked to "make everything stop" and the pendent did just that. She had stopped. She was no longer running. Instead she was listening. Listening to the sounds of boots hurrying their way over too her. 

_'Great, Allen's following me.'_ Hitomi thought.

The last thing she wanted was to be "rescued" by Allen again, especially after the fight she just had with him. So Hitomi slowly started standing up, ignoring the screaming protests of her weary limbs.

Hitomi heard the footsteps to a halt behind her.

"Are you okay?" came a timid voice.

Hitomi suppressed a laugh. _'Great, now he's going to pretend he's worried about me?'_

Because she didn't answer, the voice asked the question, assuming she hadn't heard, but Hitomi interrupted. 

"Allen, what part of get lost don't you understand?" Hitomi whirled around, ready to face the knight again, but found herself staring into a pair of crimson orbs. "Van!"

Obviously realizing that he wasn't the one she expected to see, Van made an attempt to explain himself. "I saw you run-"

"What are you doing here Van?"

"Um…I was looking for you."

"Well, you found me. Now what do you want?"

At first Van was going to say "I want to talk" but Hitomi was in no condition to be halving a serious conversation in the rain. She was injured and he knew if he didn't get her out of the rain soon, she would get sick.

"Right now, I want you to come out of the rain."

Hitomi rolled her eyes and made to leave. Instead of grabbing her, like Allen had done, Van kept talking.

"Hitomi, please. I know you're mad at me. You have every right to be. But could you just put that aside for now and let me help you?"

Van said this so sincerely that Hitomi couldn't _not believe him._

"Alright, fine." She agreed.

Van led her back to the Gaimalif hanger. 

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Merle stood with her arms crossed, tapping the stones that surrounded the fire with her foot. At first she was pacing the length of the hanger, but it grew too cold and so she sat by the warmth of the fire. As every minute passed, she grew more and more worried about Van. 

_'How could he just dash off like that in the middle of a storm, especially for that _girl_. Nothing good will come of it. He's just going to come back cold, wet, and disappointed. Poor Lord Van…'_

She didn't have to broad on it long however when her sensitive ears pricked up as she heard two people approach the hanger. Merle jumped and looked up to see Van enter the hanger, accompanied by Hitomi. 

"Lord Van, you're completely soaked!" Merle turned to Hitomi and was about to make a rude comment about her when she saw large gashes and scratch marks covering her knees, face, and her right arm and leg. "Hitomi, what happened to you?"

Oh sure, Merle loved to tease Hitomi. It was her favorite past time, but she still cared for her, just like a sister would. **(AN: Hee hee…don't we all love Merle?)**

"I fell." Hitomi said in a monotone voice that wasn't like the happy Hitomi that Merle had grown to know and love.

Van interrupted the awkward silence that had fallen between the three of them. "Merle, could you run to the castle and get Hitomi some dry clothes? And while you're at it, see if Millerna has anything for Hitomi's injuries."

"I don't need anything, I'm fine." Hitomi lied, but Merle ignored her. 

Normally Merle would protest this and make a big deal about being treated like a slave, but she could see that Van wanted to be alone with Hitomi. "Sure, I'll be right back." Merle grabbed a large square board and used it as a shield for the rain and headed for the castle. 

Hitomi walked forward and sat beside the fire to get warm. She unfolded her arms and held her hands close to the flame. Van climbed up the ladder to his right and when he came back down, he had two blankets thrown over his shoulder. He walked over to Hitomi, dropped one blanket on the floor and placed the other one around Hitomi's shoulders. Without looking at him, Hitomi mumbled a thank you as Van picked up the other blanket and threw it around himself.

Again, the two of them were thrown into an eerie silence that poked and prodded at Van's conscience. Now was the perfect time to explain himself for his earlier behavior. With nothing else to do, Van jumped right in.

"Hitomi, about what I said earlier..."

"It doesn't matter. Just forget it ever happened. I don't want to talk about it." Hitomi said while staring into the fire. 

"But I _do_ want to talk about it. You don't understand..."

"Oh, I understand completely Van. You want my power. It's no surprise really. Zaibach wants it. Allen wants it. It's only logical that you would want it too."

"But I _don't_ want it." Already, Van was getting frustrated. This was not how he had planned this conversation. 

"Oh really?" She said, totally unconvinced. 

"Yes."

Without meaning to, the conversation was turning into a shouting match. With each sencence, both of their voices grew louder and louder. 

"Then what is it you _do_ want?" 

"I don't want anything from you."

Getting angry, Hitomi jumped up to a stand, her blanket lay forgotten on the floor. "Then _why_ did you say you wanted my power?"

"I didn't mean to say that."

Their eyes locked. "Then what _did you mean to say?"_

"THAT I LOVE YOU!" 

Silence. That's all that could describe it. Utter silence.

What ever answer Hitomi was expecting, this was not it. It totally took her by surprise. She wasn't even sure if she had heard him correctly.

"Wha…What?" 

Feeling a little strange that he had to repeat what he had said, he stuttered slightly. "I…I love you." 

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. He loved her. He _actually loved her. _

Hitomi stepped closer to Van until there was only a foot gap in between them. 

"Say it again." It wasn't an order. It was more of a request. She said it slowly, as if afraid to find out that what he had said was wrong and that she had misheard. Even though deep in her heart, she knew the answer was the same, her breath caught in her chest as she waited for a reply.

Van looked into Hitomi's eyes, unwaveringly. 

"I love you Hitomi." This time when Van said it, he wasn't yelling, it wasn't an outburst, and he didn't stutter. He spoke from the bottom of his heart. He meant those words with all his being and he wanted Hitomi to know that. Hit heart was open for her to take or break. Now that she knew how he felt, it was her turn to make a decision. Unbeknown to Van, however, Hitomi had already made her decision a while ago when she had confronted Allen. 

With one step, Hitomi closed the gap in-between the two of them and she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck.  Van raised his arms and returned Hitomi's embrace. Hitomi shifted her head so her mouth was only an inch away from his ear and whispered her consent. 

"I love you too Van."

**AN: DONE! So what do you all think? Good? Bad? Let me know in your reviews. This is the first One Shot I've ever done so let me know how I did. **

**Special thanks to CinderellaxVan. Thanks to you, this fic is a great success!!! I think I should get you a Pensieve for all of those crazy ideas in your head. LOL.**

**Oh, and Harry, McGonagall says Hi. Also, once Prongs comes over, she has something very important to tell you!!!**

**Now, don't for get to REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!!......*deep breath*…… REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!!...…………**


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